"I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings." —Psalm 77:11-12
In order to appreciate the real significance of our "nugget" for today, we must obtain our perspective from the second verse of this psalm. There the writer confesses, "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord." It is especially from that circumstance that our text will lend its greatest value and provide us with a kind of formula for deliverance when our burdens threaten to become more than we can bear. Three keys confront us: "remember," "meditate," "talk."
In v.11 the psalmist declares, "I will remember Thy wonders of old." Memory is one of the most remarkable gifts God has built into our human composition, but its value depends upon what we recall. Here there is a deliberate decision to reflect upon God's wonders of old. The writer reflects on God's temporal demonstrations in Israel's tumultuous past, but I would like to suggest that among the things which the believing mind may recall are, first, the wonder of His revelation. Scripture is one of the greatest wonders God has given us. The world is full of libraries, and in our day the internet has made staggering amounts of information available at the touch of a button, some good and some bad. But with all that, nothing compares with Gods revelation. In the compass of one small book God has revealed everything we need in order to know Him, and to make the journey from here to eternity! Read the Bible and remember God's word. No other book can take you beyond the grave.
Then there is, encompassed within that revelation, the wonder of His creation, the colossal demonstration of His wisdom and power. And there is the wonder of His restraint. The prophet said, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness [Lam. 3:22-23]."
And again, there is the wonder of His redemption. God's works in creation and history are, indeed, most wonderful, but none are as magnificent as His grace revealed in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. All our hope finds its focus there, and remembering what He has done for us on the cross is our greatest source of help and hope in times of trouble.
Remember. But that is not all. "I will meditate also of all Thy work." Memory may be fleeting; meditation requires time spent reflecting, appreciating, assimilating the significance and benefits of His wonderful works to the children of men. Meditation enables the soul to absorb the benefits of His great and glorious works. Scripture declares, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in Thee [Isa. 26:3 my italics]." Memory implies a knowledge of God; meditation springs from faith in God. There is a world of difference. The soul that remembers may enjoy a visit with God; the soul who meditates takes God with him.
Finally, "I will…talk of Thy doings." Memory feeds the mind; meditation nourishes it; talk translates the benefit into testimony and glorifies God. There is an element of the tragic in the fact that so many Christians in fellowship talk of so much that has to do with the world and so little of that which is essential to the undergirding of the soul. And if believers do not talk to one another of the wonderful works of God, how likely is it that we will talk of them to others?
In a different vein, but a similar principle, the Holy Spirit said through the apostle James,"…be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed [James 1:22-25]."
Let us remember—and "continue therein!" It can deliver us from the burdens that threaten to overwhelm us and generate complaint (see v. 3).
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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